Questioning Heaven, Desiring the Way

While Li Yu was fighting Dongfang Bubai, Gu Suihan put down a collection of random historical records and placed a black stone on the Go board in front of him, which had very few stones on it.

“Do you understand what’s going on?”

Thousands of miles away, in the grand palace within the capital city of Xianyang, Ying Zheng sat across from the old man and chuckled when he saw the movement on the board and posed this question to his companion.

“I am too ignorant to understand this.” The old man stared intently at the board. There weren’t a lot of stones on it, but the possibilities were endless. He stroked his beard and shook his head in response.

“I’m playing with him for everything under heaven,” said Ying Zheng as he picked up a white stone and pointed at the board. “But he’s playing with me for…the Way of heaven.”

“How do you know?” asked the old man as he raised his cup politely and took a small sip.

“When we first put our stones down, I had expressed my intention to him, and he did the same. Our hearts are the same, but the path we choose is different.”

Ying Zheng put the white stone down. The mountains shook, and the rivers came crashing down. Mighty winds and clouds blew violently as a storm of the laws of nature covered the whole world. “He planned to live quietly, to meditate and heal his spirit, to make plans slowly. But this time, he went on the offensive.”

“What caused such a great difference in his actions?” asked the old man puzzledly as he chewed on these words.

“I…want to know too. I want to know what made him decide to take a step onto the stage instead of remaining backstage.” Ying Zheng narrowed his eyes, concealing the curious look in them.

“I shall look forward to the answer!” The old man’s expression shifted slightly as he adjusted his body a little and continued staring at the game of Go that kept changing.

“I’ve got a pawn, and I want to take a gamble with you. Do you dare to accept the challenge?” murmured Gu Suihan as he saw a white stone gradually appear on the board. He waved an arm, and the board disappeared. With just one thought, his entire body also disappeared from the room.

“What? You’re actually able to break through my Mountain River Fan’s illusion spell? You’ve got a pretty strong heart.”

Dongfang Bubai looked at the slightly battered young man in front of him with some surprise. But his general expression remained calm, and he wasn’t bothered by Li Yu at all.

This Mountain River Fan was just a cheap spiritual weapon that he owned. His opponent was clearly nowhere near his level since it took him so much effort to shatter the illusion. He didn’t have to take Li Yu seriously.

“Since things have come to this, the only way to move forward is by agitating him. He has to give up his advantage and fight you head-on. Otherwise, you won’t have any chance of winning,” the voice of the Esteemed One echoed in Li Yu’s mind.

“Agitate him? You said so yourself – this fellow is just arrogant on the surface, but he’s a very scheming and decisive person on the inside. He wouldn’t fall for something like this,” retorted Li Yu immediately after giving it a quick thought.

“If a plot in secret doesn’t work, then plot openly,” said the Esteemed One in a sly voice.

“Plot openly?”

“That means he knows it’s a trap, but he can’t help but walk right into it. It’s a plan that targets his psyche,” explained the Esteemed One after muttering ‘what an idiot’ under his breath.

“Ohhhh…I see. Please show me how to do this!” Li Yu was enlightened.

“Do you see the young man behind this fellow? The one with a jade tag on his belt that reads ‘Lianting’? I believe that’s his brother by the same mother…the 28^th son of the Dongfang family, Dongfang Lianting. There’s a rumor going around that Dongfang Bubai has something for men and that there’s something ambiguous going on between him and Dongfang Lianting. You can start from there,” said the Esteemed One with a snicker as he broke the situation down.

“Gosh…” Li Yu’s expression was awkward as he gasped in horror. He blurted his thoughts out loud, “You’ve got some questionable taste!”

“Huh?” Dongfang Bubai paused when he saw the strange look on Li Yu’s face, but when he noticed that Li Yu’s gaze was scanning Dongfang Lianting, a murderousness rose in his heart and came spewing out. “Damn you! How dare you sully my reputation! You’re asking to get killed!”

He pulled out a scepter, and the jewel on it shone brilliantly as the runes on it glowed. A beam of light shot out from the jewel, giving off the strong smell of seawater as more than a dozen waves measuring several meters in height appeared from nowhere. The waves came crashing toward Li Yu like a hungry beast.

“That’s…not the same as what the Esteemed One said,” grumbled Li Yu inwardly as he tumbled aside clumsily and dodged his opponent’s attack.

“But based on the other guy’s reaction, this might actually be true after all…” From the corner of his eye, he could see Dongfang Lianting’s charming feminine facial features, his androgynous way of dressing, and a slightly panicked look on his face. A thought struck him, and he had an idea of what to do next. He said to Dongfang Bubai via telepathy, “I not only know about this, but I have something that can prove it.”

Dongfang Bubai nearly fell on his own face when he heard what Li Yu had just said to him.

He was someone with exceptional talent, hailed from a powerful family, and was well-exposed to the world, but he was still just a young man who had cultivated for less than 20 years. The fact that something he had been hiding with all his might had been uncovered by his opponent already threw him into a panic. He didn’t have any more energy to think about whether Li Yu might be lying or not.

To be honest, Dongfang Bubai’s inclination wasn’t anything that terrible. For a variety of reasons, including one’s personality, the opportunities presented in life, their roots, their cultivation technique, and so on, many cultivators had very strange fetishes. Some were into ghosts, some were into snakes. There were plenty of cultivators who didn’t fit into the norm.

But the problem was that Dongfang Bubai was someone who was already betrothed, and his partner-to-be was someone from an equally powerful family. Also…she wasn’t someone with a good temper either.

If he were just an ordinary cultivator, nobody would have cared about him being into men. But that wasn’t his current situation. What was her family going to do if they found out about this? Were they still going to force one of their daughters to marry him despite knowing this? Wouldn’t that make them look absolutely terrible?

“How…how do you know?” Dongfang Bubai glared at the smug Li Yu and sent this message to him via telepathy while gnashing his teeth.

“It’s true?!”

It was Li Yu’s turn to be horrified. That had just been his guess based on what the Esteemed One had heard and Dongfang Lianting’s reactions. He had been afraid that he might have guessed it wrong even. But this actually turned out to be true!

“I’m not going to tell you. So, since things have come to this, are you still going to chase me out?”

“Very well!” Dongfang Bubai was so angry, his entire body was shaking. He was a beloved son of the Dongfang family, so he had never threatened like this before. Worse still, he didn’t even know how to fight back this time. “I don’t believe that you really evidence.”

“You can take the risk.” Li Yu smirked boldly in return, as if he wasn’t afraid of anything. He grinned and shrugged.

“I…You…FINE! I’ll settle this with you someday! If you’ve got the guts, tell me your full name!” Dongfang Bubai glared maliciously at Li Yu, his fists clenched tightly inside his sleeves as the veins on his arms bulged. It was clear that he was going to admit defeat today.

“I’ve got nothing to hide. My surname is Li, and my name is Yu. Yu as in the word for jade. Remember that,” said Li Yu confidently as he threw a jade tag at Dongfang Bubai. He switched to using telepathy and said, “If you want that thing, contact me on your own. You’re not allowed to bring along all these spiritual weapons and the like. I want to know if you’re qualified to be called one of the Four Great Young Masters without these things!”

Dongfang Bubai raised an eyebrow. Was this guy an idiot? Instead of seizing the chance to extort him, he was asking for a fair fight? He held onto the jade tag and looked at Li Yu’s fading back view as he walked away. He was amused. “He’s so stupid, it’s actually quite adorable.”

At the same time, Li Yu felt some admiration for the young man. After all, it was rare to find someone so devoted to another.

“A fair fight?” Dongfang Bubai rubbed the jade tag in his hands. His eyes flickered brightly as he thought, “I’m a descendant of the almighty Dongfang family and I’ve been taught plenty of superior techniques. You think I’d be afraid of a random fellow like you?”

Meanwhile, Li Yu had taken several turns before finally scurrying into a small alley. His expression instantly became one of excitement. He danced merrily and boasted to the Esteemed One, “I did pretty well, didn’t I?”

“Not bad. I had underestimated you,” said the Esteemed One in a slightly comforted voice.

Gu Suihan looked calmly at the images flashing on the screen of water before him and his lips slowly curled into a smile. “The fish has taken the bait. Dongfang is the white stone, Li Yu is the back. We’ll take one each and see who’s got the better set of skills. The bet will be…the lives of everyone in the 39^th domain!”

“That’s a small bet. Is this…just for fun?” murmured Ying Zheng to himself. He then spoke as though he were seated just across from Gu Suihan, “It’s just a domain. I’m in.”

“Number Nine, Number Seven, have you two managed to divine information about him?”

“His origins are really hard to calculate. All the details are such a blur. We need more resources.”

“No problem. We’re arriving at the 39^th domain soon. I want to see for myself what makes him think he’s qualified to make the Equal Spirit Order fall apart.”

“Miss, what would you like to buy?” An old man with a hoarse voice and cloudy, yellowish eyes stopped what he was doing and welcomed the woman outside to come in.

“I want to buy a life.”

The woman’s expression was frosty and she had some hair in her slim hand.

The old man froze for a moment, then lifted his head slowly as he smiled brightly, revealing the few teeth he had left. “Whose life are you interested in?”

“The life of the one who killed my brother!”

The woman placed the hair that was neatly wrapped up on the table covered in scratches. She then took out a jade tag and said, “This is the saintess token was given to me by the temple and I’d like to use this as a pledge. Is this enough?”

“It is!” After checking the authenticity of the tag, the old man kept the tag and the packet of hair, then picked up his rag and continued what he was doing earlier.

“Get it done as soon as possible,” said the woman. She didn’t wait for a response and walked away elegantly.